Carton sealing device



y 1943. J. w. LIVELY 2,324,405

CARTON SEALING DEVICE I Filed Aug. 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1

INbiNTO'R yaw A TTGR VE Y July 13, 1943.

J. w. LIVELY CARTON SEALING DEVICE Filed Aug. 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR W BY ,4 Tronwsy Patented July 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,324,405 CARTON same DEVICE James W. Lively, San Jose, Calif. Application August 22, 1941, SerlalNo. 407,946

Claims.

In the following specification reference is particularly made to the packaging of prunes in order to fully and accurately disclose the nature and use of the invention.

In one form of prune packaging which involves the packaging of many tons of the dried fruit in a single small plant in one substantially continuous process, the cartons are delivered to the packer in bundles. In the particular type of carton herein considered, designed to hold twentyfive pounds of the processed fruit, each carton is collapsed with one side and end lying flat against the opposite side and end, with the flaps that will eventually form the top and bottom of the carton flattened in the same manner.

The freshly processed fruit is deposited in the cartons while hot, and consequently the cartons must be expanded, and have their bottom flaps folded into position and sealed rapidly enough to keep the packers supplied with a continuous stream of the cartons to receive the continuous supply of processed fruit. To keep a quantity of .these readied cartons on hand requires the use of considerable valuable space, as well as the employment of considerable labor in the forming and handling of the cartons.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide means whereby the collapsed cartons may be readied and delivered to the packers as rapidly as the packers can receive them, with the expenditure of but little manual labor, and with the use of but little space for that purpose.

It is also an object of the invention to provide means of the character indicated that will be simple in form and construction, economical to manufacture, strong, durable, and highly efficient in its practical application.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of a device embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same.

Figure 3 is a right-hand end elevation of the flap folding member.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of an expanded carton, showing the first step in the folding proccss.

Figur 5 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the successive steps in the folding process.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I show at I the bench upon which the device is mounted, and at 2 a vertical supporting member mounted on the rear edge of the bench and disposed to be directly in front of the operator.

On the vertical front face of the member 2 are mounted the several parts which apply the glue to the carton flaps and manipulate them as hereinafter described.

At 3 is shown a strip of sheet metal having a substantially U-shaped formation, and having its parallel ends mounted on the member as at 4. This U-shaped member is disposed in a vertical plane with its base directed to the left of the operator, and it is symmetrically arranged above and below a horizontal plane 5 which is the plane through which the operator's hands move.

At 6 is shown a glue pot mounted on member 2 immediately above the upper arm 3a of the strip 3. The glue applying roller 1 is rotatively mounted on a spindle as 8 seated in the member 2. These parts are so arranged that the bottom of the roller 1 is slightly above the level of the arm 3a. A glue-applying roller is old in the art and consequently is not shown in detail. Below the roller 1 and rotatively mounted on a spindle 9 on member 2 in parallel relation to roller 1 is a pressure roller Ill. The roller ill urges the material to be glued into positive contact with roller 1 and also guides and directs the said material to the folding device hereinafter described.

Below the arm 3b of strip 3 is mounted a glue pot II and roller and spindle l2-l3, and above them the cooperating pressure roller and spindle Ml5. These elements are arrangedwith relation to arm 3b exactly as the parts above described are arranged relative to arm 3a, and apply glue to the outer surface of material passed between the rollers.

Indicated generally at I6 is a device for turning in the top and bottom flaps of the carton bottom after glue'has been applied thereto. In the present case this device comprises a heavy wire of suitable length having both of its ends inserted in, and rigidly supported by, the memher 2 as indicated at ll-lla.

The element I6 is symmetrically disposed relative to the plane 5, and directly opposite the member 3. The point I? is located a littl above the level of the arm 3a, and above the level of the opposing faces of rollers I and I0, and it is spaced from the rollers on the opposite side to the arm 3a as shown.

The end 18 of the device l6 extends outwardly from the face of member 2 a distance slightly less than the projection of roller 1, and then is bent angularly away from the roller as indicated at IS with a slightly downward inclination. The part I9 is relatively short, being about the length of the part l8. Continuing from the part It! a substantially equal distance and at the same angle, is the portion 20. The portion 20 is followed by a part 2| curving slightly downwardly and rearwardly, and thence sharply downwardly and rearwardly as at 22 to the plane 5. The half of the device below the plane 5 is constructed exactly as described for the portion above said plane, the corresponding parts being indicated by similar numerals followed by the letter a.

The result of the above described formation of the device I 8 is that a fixed guiding edge is formed having appropriate inclinations to turn the upper and lower flaps of the carton inwardly into a closed position, the side flaps being folded into position manually as they pass beyond the outer end of the device l6 as now to be described.

With the structure fixedly mounted as above described, and with the operator standing directly in front of the member 2, the operator grasps the two side flaps 23 of the carton 24, opening the carton as shown in Figure 4 and at the same time bending the flaps 23 backwardly into the positions shown in dotted lines at 23a.

With the carton, held as above described it is swung into position on the member I as indicated by the arrow 25, the top and bottom end flaps of the carton sliding on the top and bottom surfaces of the arms 3a3b of the said member, said flaps being indicated at 28.

Since the top and bottom flaps 28 follow identical paths of travel, the top one only will be described in detail.

As clearly shown in Figure 5 the movement of against the under edge of the parts l8, l9 and I 20 of the device I6 and into the position 26b, the disposition of this edge serving to slightly start turning the flap downwardly. But this movement being started it is easily accelerated as the flap engages the part 2| and passes through the positions 26c and 26d, here the flap being folded into a practically closed position.

The obtuse angle formed by the parts 22 at 21 permits the almost completely folded flaps 26 to pass beyond the end of the device i8, and when the carton has reached the position 24d, where one-half only still bears against the device ii, the operator is enabled to close the one side flap 23 against the glued and folded flaps 28 by manually swinging it in the direction indicated by the arrow 28.

The continued swinging movement of the whole carton will, of course, carry it to the position 2le where it is entirely free of the device iii. In this latter position the operator is enabled to manually swing the remaining flap 2! into a closed position on the glued and folded flaps 26 as indicated by the arrow 29.

With the four flaps of the carton bottom folded into position as described, the operator simply drops the carton into an upright position on the bench as shown in dotted lines at 24f where it is finally prepared to receive load.

It will be noted that when the operator has once grasped the side flaps 23 as indicated at 30 he has merely to swing the carton through the arc 3i devices are supported at one end only so'the cartons can move freely past their outer ends, and that the side flaps 26 and the carton bear against the outer edges of the part 3 and the device l6, thereby causing the successive cartons to move in one fixed path of travel.

Although but one specific embodiment of the invention has been herein illustratedand described, it will be understood that variou alterations in the details of construction and mode of assembly and operation may be made without departing from th scope of the invention as indicated in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A device for use in folding and sealing the bottom flaps of a carton as the carton is swung through an are by the operator comprising, a pair of opposed and parallel glue applying devices disposed in spaced vertical relation to each other substantially equal to the spacing of the carton flaps-to receive the glue and to apply the glue to the outer surfaces of said flaps, means disposed on one side of the glue applying devices having oppositely directed faces disposed to support and guide two opposite flaps of a carton into operative relation with the glue applying devices, and means disposed on the opposite side of the glue applying devices arcuate in form and disposed in concentric relation to the operator and constructed and arranged to receive the said flaps as they pass from the glue applying devices and fold them into closed relation to the bottom of the carton.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the first mentioned means is provided with an outwardly directed face to form a stop and sliding' support and guide for the carton body.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1- wherein the forward vertical face of the first mentioned means lies in a-plane disposed forwardly of the ward each other and inclined toward said plane to form an obtuse forwardly directed angle centering in a plane paralleling the first mentioned ends of the said working edge midway between the two.

4. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the last mentioned means is provided with a working edge having two end portions substantially paralleling the glue-applying devices in part, and a continuous intermediate portion that is irregularly inclined from the two end portions to its center, and that is substantially arcuate in form with respect to the path of travel of the carton moved thereover.

5. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the first mentioned means and the last mentioned means is each provided with an outwardly directed face to form a stop and sliding support and guide for the carton body.

JAMES W. LIVELY. 

